How To Build A Financial Emergency Kit

I hope you had a wonderful weekend! A very sacred day for many of us today, National Patriot Day and National Day of Service and Remembrance.Many of us who have worked in the financial services industry for a long time were touched personally by the events of September 11, 2001. May we always keep in our hearts those who were lost that day.

LRPC’s Monday Morning Minute for this week, “How To Build A Financial Emergency Kit”(presented below) comes to you courtesy of Charles Schwab & Co. As an independent, objective Registered Investment Advisory (RIA) firm, Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC (LRPC) has access to research from many sources. Be assured that I will share enlightening, useful information with you each week.

The disasters in Houston and Florida might cause you to wonder if you are prepared, from a financial perspective, for a disaster wherever you live. Any of us could be victims of all sorts of catastrophes at any point in time. Below is some good advice from Schwab on preparing a financial emergency kit.

Have a wonderful week!

_______________________________

How To Build A Financial Emergency Kit

By Schwab Newsroom

Natural disasters rarely give you much time to prepare. That’s why it’s a good idea to put together a financial emergency kit ahead of time. If calamity strikes, having access to needed financial resources can make it easier to focus on what’s most important: your and your family’s physical safety.

Of course, finances are only part of an overall disaster plan. If you don’t have a general disaster plan, a good place to start is the “Make a Plan” page at the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov website. The site has detailed guidance on preparing for a variety of emergencies and can help you craft a plan to keep your family safe.

Once you’ve got a general disaster plan in place, you can add a financial emergency kit. The form it takes is up to you, but whatever you choose, make sure it’s in a secure and easily accessible place.

Safeguard Your Kit

Consider storing paper copies of important documents in a fireproof and waterproof box or safe, with a trusted friend or your lawyer, or in a safe deposit box (check with your bank to confirm who else is allowed to access the safe deposit box if you should become unable to do so).

Electronic copies of important documents should be stored in a password-protected format on a removable flash drive or external hard drive in your fireproof or waterproof box or safe, or on a secure “cloud-based” storage server (but note that you may not be able to access them if your computer is damaged, electrical power is down or your mobile phone service is interrupted, so you may want to keep paper backup copies).

What You’ll Need

At a minimum, your disaster kit should include these items:

Personal identification

After a disaster, everyone in your household may require proof of identity to obtain disaster relief services or regain access to your property. You may also need ID to access your financial assets or file an insurance claim. Essential documents include extra originals or copies of driver’s licenses, birth certificates/adoption papers/child custody documents, marriage licenses, Social Security cards, passports/naturalization documents, and current military IDs or military discharge papers. If you have a pet, consider including proof of ownership — such as tag numbers, microchip information, or photos of you and family members with the pet — in case it gets lost.

Cash

ATMs and credit card readers may not work for several days after a disaster, so consider keeping enough cash on hand to cover food, lodging, gasoline and other necessities for a few days, at least. If you’re keeping emergency documents in a safe deposit box, you should also include a spare key to that box in the kit you keep at home. Besides having a small amount of cash readily available, it’s a good idea for your plan to encompass an emergency fund that ideally can cover three to six months of essential living expenses, held in a savings account or other cash-equivalent investment that is relatively safe and liquid.

Contact information

Make a list of “in case of emergency” telephone numbers, email addresses or other means of connecting with people you may need to reach in an emergency. This could include: family and neighbors, employer, landlord or mortgage company, insurance agent, banking institution, lawyer, broker or financial advisor. You should also make sure your financial advisor has up-to-date contact information for you, possibly including a designated secondary or emergency contact.

Important financial documents

These could include mortgage documents, property deeds, insurance policies, and legal documents related to powers of attorney, medical directives, wills, and trusts. It’s a good idea to keep recent copies of your bank, retirement and investment account statements — they can serve as proof of account ownership, as well as a record of account numbers, routing numbers and institution contact information, in case funds need to be transferred. Tax returns from the previous three years may be required to apply for some new loans or to qualify for income-based assistance. You should also keep copies of medical documents, such as physician contact information, insurance ID cards, Medicare/Medicaid cards and current prescriptions.

An inventory of your belongings

Having a record of what you own can help maximize the benefit from insurance policies and speed the insurance claims process. Your record could be a list of items, photographs, or video — or a combination of all three. Take close-up photographs of valuables such as jewelry, watches or small electronics, including serial numbers. Consider saving receipts for expensive items like furniture, computers and televisions. This is also a good time to review what your insurance covers — for instance, homeowners insurance typically doesn’t cover flooding, so if you’re in a flood-prone area you may need to purchase additional flood insurance. You also should make sure you have enough insurance to cover what you currently own, and be aware of deductibles and other exclusions from any insurance coverage.

This is just an overview of items that can help you start the recovery process after a disaster — your financial plan could include many more, depending on your and your family’s needs. For more comprehensive information about financial preparedness, including useful checklists, check out the “Financial Preparedness” page of the Department of Homeland Security’s Ready.gov website.

Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC (LRPC) Monday Morning Minute is crafted to provide decision-makers with important information about the economy, investments and corporate retirement plans in a format that allows a reader to consume the information in less than 60 seconds. As an independent, objective investment adviser, LRPC has access to many sources of research and shares the best and most relevant information with its readers each week.

Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC is a Milwaukee, Wisconsin-based independent, objective Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) providing investment advisory, fiduciary compliance, employee education, provider management and plan design services to retirement plan sponsors. The firm currently has contracts in place to provide consulting services on more than $400 million in plan assets. For more information, please contact Robert C. Lawton at (414) 828-4015 or bob@lawtonrpc.com or visit the firm’s website at http://www.lawtonrpc.com. Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC is a Wisconsin Registered Investment Adviser.

Important Disclosures

This information was developed as a general guide to educate plan sponsors and is not intended as authoritative guidance, tax, legal or investment advice. Each plan has unique requirements and you should consult your attorney or tax adviser for guidance on your specific situation. In no way does Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC assure that, by using the information provided, plan sponsor will be in compliance with ERISA regulations. Investors should carefully consider investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. The statements in this publication are the opinions and beliefs of the commentator expressed when the commentary was made and are not intended to represent that person’s opinions and beliefs at any other time. The commentary does not necessarily reflect the opinion of Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC and should not be construed as recommendations or investment advice. Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC offers no tax, legal or accounting advice and any advice contained herein is not specific to any individual, entity or retirement plan, but rather general in nature and, therefore, should not be relied upon for specific investment situations. Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC is a Wisconsin Registered Investment Adviser and accepts clients outside of Wisconsin based upon applicable state registration regulations and the “de minimus” exception.

Additional Important Disclosures

The information provided here is for general informational purposes only and should not be considered an individualized recommendation or personalized investment advice. All expressions of opinion are subject to change without notice in reaction to shifting market conditions.

Categories

Robert C. Lawton

Robert C. Lawton, AIF®, CRPS® is the Founder and President of Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC (LRPC). Lawton is an award-winning 401k investment adviser and fiduciary compliance specialist with more than 30 years of experience working with retirement plans. LRPC specializes in bringing Fortune 500 solutions to small and medium-sized businesses in Illinois and Wisconsin.

Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC offers no tax, legal or accounting advice and any advice contained herein is not specific to any individual, entity or retirement plan, but rather general in nature and, therefore, should not be relied upon for specific investment situations. Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, LLC is a Wisconsin Registered Investment Adviser and accepts clients outside of Wisconsin based upon applicable state registration regulations and the “de minimus” exception.

Important insights on the economy and investments – in 60 seconds or less.
Subscribe to LRPC’s Monday Morning Minute newsletter below.

By submitting this form, you are granting: Lawton Retirement Plan Consultants, 9700 West Edgerton Avenue, Hales Corners, Wisconsin, 53130, United States, http://lawtonrpc.com/ permission to email you. You may unsubscribe via the link found at the bottom of every email. (See our Email Privacy Policy for details.) Emails are serviced by Constant Contact.